Selecting the Best Technology for Your Family Office

A List of Technology Questions to Help You Make the Right Fintech Decision for Your Family Office

When it comes to family office technology, there is no shortage of options across the space. From integrated accounting software to portfolio management tools and investment reporting applications, there are plenty of suitable choices.

But how do you know which technology is right for your family office?

As time-consuming as it can be, the due diligence process is an important step to ensure you make the best possible technology decision. Before you make a decision, you should be able to answer questions such as:

• Can the technology be used by multiple teams or will you need more than one platform?
• Does your fintech vendor have enough experience working with complex wealthy families?
• Can your vendor handle your implementation project?
• Does your vendor provide sufficient application support and data security?

By asking a variety of questions – from the company’s background and organizational stability to the product’s functionality and reporting capabilities – you should be able to create a holistic view of how the technology solution can help your family office address its biggest pain points.

And we get it — that can be a lot to take on.

It’s no easy task to uproot your current process in search of a new technology solution. But with the right due diligence process in place – and with a little help from a ready-to-use list of technology questions – you can set your firm on a path to find the right fintech platform for your family office or financial institution.

Our compilation of role-based due diligence guides highlight key considerations that can help you choose the right fintech solution for your family office or financial institution.

Whether you’re an executive, accountant, investment advisor or IT professional, our goal is to provide you with the tools you need to make an informed technology decision for your firm.

50 Questions for Executives

Your role as an executive gives you a unique vantage point when selecting a technology platform. After all, you’re responsible for finding a technology solution that is a good fit for all players involved – tax advisors, investment operations, the accounting staff and family members alike. It’s your job to dig into the fintech vendor and become an expert in their background, the broad set of capabilities within their offering and their experience implementing technology across projects similar to yours.

50 Questions for Accountants

Given the nature of your role, you need to know the ins and outs of the system – from how it processes basic transactions to how it handles the most complex accounting scenarios. The questions in this guide focus on the features and functionality of the system, including general ledger capabilities, accounts payable tools, investment data processing and partnership accounting features.

25 Questions for Investment Advisors

As an investment advisor, you are responsible for managing and growing the family’s wealth. Finding a technology solution that allows you to plan, track and report on the family’s investments – regardless of the type of investment, where it’s held or who manages it – is your number one priority. At the end of the day, you need to know how well the technology solution can handle your unique mix of investments. Our collection of questions regarding portfolio management, third-party data collection, performance and client reporting offers you a baseline to build out a broader set of questions that can help you find a technology solution that meets your specific requirements.

25 Questions for IT Professionals

You may not be a user of the technology, but it’s your job to verify the strength and durability of the platform. In an age where cyber security is a top concern, understanding the technology vendor’s security protocols, software development practices and hosting options will help you determine the reliability and sophistication of the system – and whether or not it is worthy of your organization’s trust.